Thomas S. Monson's Conference Talks Since 2006

The full text of all talks given by Thomas S. Monson, the president of the LDS Church, in General Conference since 2006. Created for the research project behind the essay "Monson's Refusal to Testify".

The full text of all talks given by Thomas S. Monson, the president of the LDS Church, in General Conference since 2006. Created for the research project behind the essay "Monson's Refusal to Testify".

Let us resolve here and now to follow that straight path which leads home to the Father of us all.

Many years ago, on an assignment to the beautiful islands of Tonga, I was privileged to visit our Church school, the Liahona High School, where our youth are taught by teachers with a common bond of faith

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providing training for the mind and preparation for life. On that occasion, entering one classroom, I noticed the rapt attention the children gave their native instructor. His textbook and theirs lay closed upon the desks. In his hand he held a strange-appearing fishing lure fashioned from a round stone and large seashells. This, I learned, was a

maka-feke,

an octopus lure. In Tonga, octopus meat is a delicacy. The teacher explained that Tongan fishermen glide over a reef, paddling their outrigger canoes with one hand and dangling the maka-feke over the side with the other. An octopus dashes out from its rocky lair and seizes the lure, mistaking it for a much-desired meal. So tenacious is the grasp of the octopus and so firm is its instinct not to relinquish the precious prize that fishermen can flip it right into the canoe. It was an easy transition for the teacher to point out to the eager and wide-eyed youth that the evil one

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even Satan

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has fashioned so-called maka-fekes with which to ensnare unsuspecting persons and take possession of their destinies. Today we are surrounded by the maka-fekes which the evil one dangles before us and with which he attempts to entice us and then to ensnare us. Once grasped, such maka-fekes are ever so difficult

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and sometimes nearly impossible

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to relinquish. To be safe, we must

recognize them for what they are and then be unwavering in our determination to avoid them. Constantly before us is the maka-feke of immorality. Almost everywhere we turn, there are those who would have us believe that what was once considered immoral is now acceptable.

I think of the scripture, “Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.”

Such is the maka-feke of immorality. We are reminded in the Book of Mormon that chastity and virtue are precious above all things. When temptation comes, remember the wise counsel of the Apostle Paul, who declared,

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to m

an: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation

Some publishers and printers prostitute their presses by printing millions of pieces of pornography each day. No expense is spared to produce a product certain to be viewed, then viewed again. One of the most accessible sources of pornography today is the Internet, where one can turn on a computer and instantly have at his fingertips countless sites

featuring pornography. President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “I fear this may be going on

in some of your homes. It is vicious. It is lewd and filthy. It is enticing and habit-forming. It will take [you] down to destruction as surely as anything in this world. It is foul sleaze that

Tainted as well is the movie producer, the television programmer, or the entertainer who promotes pornography. Long gone are the restraints of yesteryear. So-called realism is the quest, with the result that today we are surrounded by this filth. Avoid any semblance of pornography. It will desensitize the spirit and erode the

conscience. We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants, “That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.”

Such is pornography. I mention next the maka-feke of drugs, including alcohol. Once grasped, this maka-feke is particularly difficult to abandon. Drugs and alcohol cloud thinking, remove inhibitions, fracture families, shatter dreams, and shorten life. They are everywhere to be found and are placed purposely in the pathway of vulnerable youth.

Each one of us has a body that has been entrusted to us by a loving Heavenly Father. We have been commanded to care for it. Can we deliberately abuse or injure our bodies

without being held accountable? We cannot! The Apostle Paul declared: “Know ye not that

fit and clean, free from harmful substances which destroy our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. The final maka-feke I wish to mention today is one which can crush our self-esteem, ruin relationships, and leave us in desperate circumstances. It is the maka-feke of excessive debt. It is a human tendency to want the things which will give us prominence and prestige. We live in a time when borrowing is easy. We can purchase almost anything we could ever want just by using a credit card or obtaining a loan. Extremely popular are home equity loans, where one can borrow an amount of money equal to the equity he has in his home. What we may not realize is that a home equity loan is equivalent to a second mortgage. The day of reckoning

will

come if we have continually lived beyond our means.

My brothers and sisters, avoid the philosophy that yesterday’s luxuries have become today’s necessities. They aren’t necessities unless we make them so. Many enter into long

-term debt only to find that changes occur: people become ill or incapacitated, companies fail or downsize, jobs are lost, natural disasters befall us. For many reasons, payments on large amounts of debt can no longer be made. Our debt becomes as a Damocles sword hanging over our heads and threatening to destroy us. I urge you to live within your means. One cannot spend more than one earns and remain solvent. I promise you that you will then be happier than you would be if you were constantly worrying about how to make the next payment on nonessential debt. In the

There are, of course, countless other maka-fekes which the evil one dangles before us to lead us from the path of righteousness. However, our Heavenly Father has given us life and with it the capacity to think, to reason, and to love. We have the power to resist any temptation and the ability to determine the path we will take, the direction we will travel. Our goal is the celestial kingdom of God. Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course in that direction. To all who walk the pathway of life, our Heavenly Father cautions: beware the detours, the pitfalls, the traps. Cunningly positioned are those cleverly disguised maka-fekes beckoning us to grasp them and to lose that which we most desire. Do not be deceived. Pause to pray. Listen to that still, small voice which speaks to the depths of our soul